Investigation Finds UConn Professor Fabricated Research

Work Focused On Health Benefits Of Resveratrol, An Antioxidant In Red Wine

Dipak Das with grapes and wine glasses at his office at the UConn Health Center. (Courtesy of UConn, Courtesy…)

January 12, 2012|By WILLIAM WEIR and KATHLEEN MEGAN, The Hartford Courant

A three-year investigation into the work of a University of Connecticut researcher who focused on the health benefits of resveratrol — a chemical in red wine — found 145 instances of fabricated research.

Dipak K. Das, a professor in the department of surgery and director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the UConn Health Center, was the focus of the investigation by UConn faculty.

An anonymous tip into "research irregularities" triggered the investigation, a UConn spokesman said. As a result of the investigation, all externally funded research in Das' lab has been stopped and the university has declined $890,000 in research grants.

Officials from the UConn Health Center have notified 11 scientific journals that have published Das' studies. The health center officials worked with the U.S. Office of Research Integrity during the investigation and submitted a 60,000-page report on their findings to the office, which is now conducting its own investigation.

The report indicates that the data were primarily falsified through manipulation of analytical images using photo software.

"While we are deeply disappointed by the flagrant disregard for the university's code of conduct, we are pleased the oversight systems in place were effective and worked as intended," Philip Austin, UConn'sinterim vice president for health affairs, said in a prepared statement. "We are grateful that an individual chose to do the right thing by alerting the appropriate authorities. Our findings were the result of an exhaustive investigation that, by its very nature, required considerable time to complete."

Das did not return calls or email messages seeking comment.

Das' salary is $184,396. UConn spokesman Chris DeFrancesco said he "remains employed by the UConn Health Center pending dismissal proceedings per university bylaws."

But Das has not received any grant money since January 2011 and has not had any staff in his lab since then, DeFrancesco said. Das has not taught since the investigation began three years ago, DeFrancesco added.

The dismissal process is "an involved process when you're dealing with a tenured professor. We are hoping to reach a conclusion … as soon as we can," DeFrancesco said.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was asked about the investigation Wednesday during a storm-preparedness press conference in Simsbury, and whether UConn's conclusion that data had been fabricated might affect the state's plans to develop a research cluster around the health center.

"Do I think it's helpful? Obviously the answer is no," Malloy said. But he pointed out that UConn began the investigation itself and brought its findings to the appropriate external authorities.

A Promising Compound

Das, 65, of West Hartford, has been with the health center since 1984 and was granted tenure in 1993. In recent years Das has researched herbs and plant-derived compounds and their role in cardiovascular diseases. Das' work investigated the potential health benefits of resveratrol — including whether it prevents coronary heart disease, whether it acts as an anti-inflammatory and also whether high doses of the antioxidant, which is derived from the skin and seeds of grapes, can kill cancer cells. Thirty-three people worked in his laboratory at one time or another between 2002 and 2009.

UConn's investigation began in December 2008. Bruce Koeppen, who was then dean of academic affairs, appointed an investigation team, which collected all of Das' studies and examined them for irregularities.

Much of the evidence gathered in the investigation was taken from the computer in Das' office, to which no other lab members had a key.

The report states that six other researchers were suspected at one point of having a role in the data manipulation. On the advice of the Office of Research Integrity and the office of the Connecticut attorney general, the investigation focused specifically on Das. The six other researchers were referred to the health center's research misconduct committee. DeFrancesco said they "are subjects of inquiry but to date there have been no findings against them."

According to the report, Das stated that he had no knowledge of any of the allegedly manipulated data. Based on testimony of other Cardiovascular Research Center staff, the investigators found that the professor's statement "lacks credibility." As senior author of the papers, the report states, he bears responsibility for any fabrication that occurred, and evidence "strongly suggests that Dr. Das himself was directly involved in fabricating figures for publication."

The report states that "one of the curious aspects" of the case is how responsibilities were divided on certain studies. Some lab members — even when they were the first authors on the papers — had no role in biochemical analyses or preparing figures. Compartmentalizing the work in such a way, according to the report, would make it harder to trace any fabrication to its origin.